Bulldogs begin quest for 15th title
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Senior Shelby Kluver brings a lot of leadership to the floor for the Bulldogs.
SANDPOINT — The Bulldogs own 14 state volleyball titles, a gaudy number, and four of them were won two decades ago under Jeff Hurst.
On the first day of the season, the No. 15 was written on every ball, and the team has gone about trying to win said number with a strong season under Hurst, who returned to the sideline after a long layoff.
The Bulldogs (20-9) attack from the first point until the last, and regardless of how things end up, the team will go down swinging, starting this morning against Kuna (15-4) in the opener of the 4A Idaho State volleyball tournament at Rocky Mountain High School.
“From what I’ve seen, we’re a legit team,” claimed Hurst. “Someone is going to have to go out and beat Sandpoint, we won’t roll over.”
Hitters Grace Hicks, Jenny Slaveck, Jazmin Stockton, Gabby Hicks and Shelby Kluver will all gets swings on sets from setter Marina Breuner. There will be some tall blocks put up at state, and hitting through or around them will be huge.
Defensively, the Bulldogs put up a pretty strong block of their own, with Breuner and both Hicks all capable of stuffs at the net. Behind them is a scrappy back line led by senior Lilly Anderson and Helen Barden.
Grace Hicks, who played at state as a sophomore, is hoping to end her final season on a high note.
“Flat out compete, don’t worry about the other team. Focus on our side,” said Hicks. “I want to win this year, and this is our best chance.”
Like most 4A state tournaments, teams from southeast, southern and northern Idaho will converge knowing very little about each other.
Handling the nerves of tight sets at state is of the utmost importance, and the Bulldogs have proven capable of closing out sets with purpose.
“We’ve never seen Century or Middleton, they’ve never seen us,” said Hurst. “At the end of the day, it’s bump, set, spike. To beat us, you’ll have to play hard for two hours.”
Stockton feels the team has the tools to play deep into the tournament, helping the program make a run at state for the first time in years.
“We’re running a faster offense, hitters are hitting straight down,” she said, noting confidence will be of the essence. “If we walk in with belief, we’ll put No. 15 on the state board, which is the goal.”